


Dear Theodosia

by WhatsYourNameMan



Series: I Got Y'All Knuckleheads [10]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Angst, Anxiety Attacks, Baby, Burrcules, F/M, Foster Care, Foster dad Herc, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, and fluff, vague and not so vague mentions of abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-01
Updated: 2017-06-01
Packaged: 2018-11-07 12:21:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11058879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhatsYourNameMan/pseuds/WhatsYourNameMan
Summary: Y'all thought I forgot about Theodosia, didn't you?In other words, Herc and Aaron decide to have a baby.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Buckle up, this is a roller coaster.
> 
> Ages:  
> Laf- 18  
> John- 17  
> Alex- 16  
> Herc and Aaron- around 40

"Let's go, knuckleheads! Everyone in the car!"

Herc and Aaron stood by the car, which was packed with everything the family might need for a day at the zoo. They had told their boys to be ready to go at eight o'clock. It was currently eight twenty-two. 

Lafayette was the first to exit the house, wearing a light sundress and sunglasses atop his head. He was focused on his phone and his fathers were greeted with a whiff of sunscreen as he breezed by them. 

"Prepare yourselves," was all he said, not looking up at them. 

Aaron and Herc gave each other a quizzical look. Their unspoken question was answered a moment later by a large bang and yelling from inside the house. 

"Ow, Alex!" 

"You started it!" 

"No I didn't—Get off!" 

"Hey! Was pulling my hair really necessary?"

"Did you just _bite_ me?"

Herc shot Aaron a long-suffering look. Aaron responded with a soft smile. 

"I'll handle it." 

Aaron marched back into the house and said something to the two boys. Herc couldn't hear his words, but the quiet yet threatening tone was clear. A minute later, he emerged with Alex and John in tow, both hanging their heads. They piled into the car silently. 

"Wow," Herc said. "What did you say?"

Aaron shrugged. "The usual, I threatened grounding and then told them if they don't knock it off then I get to plan every trip for the rest of the summer." 

Herc looked impressed. "Nice."

The two of them got into the car, Herc in the driver's seat and Aaron next to him. John and Alex were in the back, sulking, on opposite sides of Lafayette, who seemed totally unaffected by being stuck in the middle of the tension between his brothers. 

The zoo wasn't horribly far away; it was the nearest one that met Laf's standards for the treatment of the animals. By the time they reached it, Alex and John had forgotten their argument and were pressing their faces up against the window in anticipation.

"What are we going to see first?" Alex asked. He had never been to a zoo before.

"I want to see the turtles," John responded immediately. 

"We have to see the penguins first," Laf disagreed. 

"I want to see all of it," Alex said. 

Herc chuckled. "We will, kiddo, don't worry." He parked the car, and the kids burst out into the parking lot and rushed towards the entrance. 

Aaron was the first to free himself from his seatbelt and get out of the car. 

"Wait for us, please!" he called. 

John, Laf, and Alex stopped dead in their tracks. Their fathers caught up to them and they went into the zoo together, with Alex in the lead. He guided them towards the penguins, much to Laf's delight. 

Herc chuckled as his kids ran to the guardrail of the enclosure, looking at the birds with pure, childlike wonder on their faces. He looped an arm around Aaron's waist, but Aaron was distracted. 

"Herc, look how adorable!" he cooed, placing a hand on Herc's chest. 

Herc followed his husband's gaze, but it was not an animal he was looking at. It was a little baby, staring over its mother's shoulder and grinning at Aaron. Aaron mimicked its wrinkly smile and waved. Herc giggled at Aaron's cuteness. 

Aaron, seemingly brought back to reality by Herc's laugh, suddenly turned to his husband with a serious look on his face. 

"Hercules." 

"Aaron?" 

"I want to have a baby."


	2. Chapter 2

"A baby?" 

Aaron nodded. 

Herc frowned. "Okay, well, we're both male, so that's an issue."

Aaron rolled his eyes. "I mean we could get a surrogate—" He cut himself off, shaking his head and walking away. "You know what? Just forget I said anything, I shouldn't have brought it up." 

Herc caught his arm. "No! No, I was just surprised. Aaron, nothing would make me happier than having a baby with you." 

Aaron bit his lip. "Really?" 

"Yes, absolutely." Herc leaned down and pressed his lips to Aaron's. 

This caught the attention of John, who yelled, "Dads! Gross! No PDA!" and then turned back to the penguins. 

Herc and Aaron chuckled. 

"So how are we going to discuss it with them?" Herc asked, jerking his head towards the boys. "And when?" 

"Maybe tonight?" Aaron suggested. "We need to make sure they're okay with it first. This is a big deal." 

"We might have a baby," Herc whispered, as if the full revelation had just hit him. "God, I love you so much."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

At the end of the day, a sweaty and slightly sunburned Mulligan clan returned to their house, all of them exhausted except for Alex, who was filled with excitement.

"That was so cool!" he exclaimed, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "We should go again! Maybe even tomorrow!" 

The two elder boys started to head upstairs to collapse in their rooms, but Herc stopped them. 

"Actually, can we talk to you guys in the living room?" Seeing the anxiety take over their faces, he added, "It's nothing bad." 

The family settled down in the living room, Herc and Aaron holding hands on the love seat and the three boys on the couch opposite them. 

Herc and Aaron glanced at each other, unsure of how to start. Then, Herc spoke. 

"Your father and I have been talking, and... We think we might want to have a baby through a surrogate." The boys' faces remained undecipherable and Herc continued, "But we want your full support on this. If any of you have a problem with it we won't go through with it." 

"You should know this has nothing to do with you guys," Aaron added.

Herc quickly jumped in. "You guys are perfect, and our lives are perfect. I mean, what I wouldn't give to have raised you from birth, but I'm so glad you came to me when you did." 

"It's just that Laf, you're going off to college in a few months, and John and Alex aren't far behind."

"And we're so young," Herc said. "We can't be empty nesters at forty-three."

Aaron noticed that the boys' faces had shifted to bemusement. "We're talking too much, aren't we?" he asked, giving them a sheepish smile. 

"Am I really going to have a little sibling?" Alex asked excitedly. 

"Like, a little, little sibling?" John added. 

"One we can dress up and play with?" Laf finished. 

"So you guys are on board?" Herc asked. 

"Yes!" the three of them exclaimed in unison. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It didn't take them terribly long to find a surrogate. Theodosia Prevost—Aaron's ex-girlfriend who had remained close friends with the family—heard they were looking and volunteered herself. 

It was Aaron's sample that took, and Theodosia began spending a lot more time with the family as she grew bigger and bigger. 

The boys expressed their excitement almost constantly. They loved holding their hands over Theo's stomach to feel the baby kick, and they had a ball picking out toys and clothes for it. However, each had their reservations. 

One night after Theo had left, Herc had turned to find Laf standing behind him, his eyes suddenly filled to the brim with tears. 

"What's wrong, kiddo?" Herc asked, pulling him upstairs into his room. 

"I am not going to be a good big brother," Laf said dismally. 

"What do you mean?" Herc asked. "You're an amazing big brother. John and Alex adore you, and so will the baby."

"The baby will barely even know me," Laf said. "I am going to college, back to France, and I will not get to visit often. I may not even be here when they are born!" His tears spilled over, streaking down his face uncontrollably. 

"Oh, Laf," Herc said, pulling the boy into a tight hug. "You will know your sibling. We'll FaceTime you every night, and I'll pay for you to come back when they're born. And when you're done with college, you'll come home and they'll get to really know you, and they'll love you just as much as we do. Okay?"

"Merci, Papa," Laf nodded and sniffled into his shoulder. 

Meanwhile, downstairs, Aaron was dealing with an anxious Alex. 

"The baby's not gonna like me," he breathed, pulling on his hair. "They're not gonna like me and I'm gonna screw everything up and you and Mr. Mulligan are gonna send me away."

Aaron didn't know how to respond at first. Alex seemed to have regressed to how he was two years ago, when he still called Herc and Aaron by their last names and lived in constant fear of being sent away. When he didn't feel like he belonged in the family. 

"Hey, Alex, breathe. It's okay. We would never send you away. We adopted you, remember? We want you in our lives forever." 

"The baby's not gonna like me," Alex repeated, showing no sign of having heard Aaron. 

"Why do you say that?" Aaron sighed, changing tactics. Sometimes it helped Alex to talk through his worries. 

"One of m-my first homes," Alex stammered. "They had a-a baby while I was there. He didn't like me. He—he cried whenever I was in the same room. The parents said it was because," Alex swallowed hard and closed his eyes, "because babies can sense bad people." 

Aaron bit back the anger that usually occurred when he learned something new about his son's horrible past. "Alex, look at me. You are _not_ a bad person. You're one of the best people I know. This baby is going to love you." 

"But what if they don't?" Alex whimpered. 

"Why wouldn't they?"

Alex hesitated before responding. "They won't kick for me. They kick every time John and Laf touch Theo's stomach, but they've never kicked for me."

"Oh, Alex." Aaron put a hand on Alex's shoulder. "That doesn't mean anything. The baby has no idea what's going on. They're going to love you." 

Alex buried his face into Aaron's chest and sobbed. Aaron let him stay like that until he had cried himself to the point of exhaustion and fallen asleep, then picked him up and carried him to his bed. 

In the mean time, Herc had moved into John's room, where the middle child was sitting on the bed. In one hand he clutched a small picture frame Herc had never seen before, and with the other hand he doodled on his jeans while staring at the picture, lost in thought. 

"John?" Herc asked. "What's on your mind kiddo?" 

John startled upright and then, seeing it was Herc, relaxed back into his normal slumped posture. He held the frame out towards Herc. 

"I had a sister, y'know," John said. "A little sister. Mary Eleanor. She was six last time I saw her."

Herc looked down at the picture. It showed an eleven-year-old John grinning next to a what looked like a younger female version of him. She was hugging him in the picture, their freckled cheeks pressed up against each other. 

"She's beautiful," Herc said. "What happened to her?" 

John moved his doodling hand to his arm. "Our biological father used to beat us. It was always because of me, so when he was arrested and we were put in foster care, I let them separate us. I thought she'd be safer without me." John shook his head sadly. "She looked so sad when they took me away. I shoulda fought harder to stay with her. I shoulda done anything it took. What if I let this baby down like I did Mary Eleanor?" 

Herc didn't know how to even begin a response, so John continued. 

"I mean, I thought about this a little bit with Alex, but that was different, y'know? He was only a year younger, and a brother... I just feel like this baby's gonna be a girl, y'know? But either way they're gonna be so much younger, just like Mary Eleanor was, and I dunno if I can handle that." 

"John," Herc said. "You were just doing what you thought was best. It's not your fault. And Aaron and I, we would trust you with this baby's life. We know any decision you make would be for the good of the baby." 

John's doodling hand slowly went still as some of the anxiety slipped away. "Really?" 

Herc kissed his forehead. "Really. Try to get some sleep, okay kiddo?" 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nine months later, they had a beautiful baby girl. They named her Theodosia, Jr. as thanks to Theodosia, Sr. for everything she had done for them. 

Aaron was the first to hold her. "Dear Theodosia," he whispered, "what to say to you?"

Herc wrapped his arm around Aaron and looked down into Theodosia's large, alert brown eyes. "She has your eyes." 

"And her mother's name." Aaron looked up at Theodosia, Sr., who was smiling up at them from the hospital bed. "Thank you so much, Theo. She's perfect." 

"Can I hold her?" Herc asked. Aaron gently handed her over and Herc cradled her close to his chest. "Hi Theo," he cooed. "I'm your dad. I can't believe how beautiful you are." 

"Our fathers weren't around," Aaron said, almost sung, to her. "But I swear we'll be around for you."

"Do you think she's ready to meet her brothers?" Herc asked. 

"I'm sure they're ready to meet her." 

Aaron let John, Laf, and Alex in. They studied the baby with a fascinated awe. Herc handed her to Laf first. He took her confidently, making sure she was secure in his arms. 

"Bonjour, ma soeur. Je m'appelle Lafayette. I am your biggest brother. I will not be around a lot at first, but I swear I'll make the world safe and sound for you." 

Theo stared up at him, not comprehending anything he had said. He grinned and passed her to John, who held her tightly. 

"Hey there," he whispered. "I'm John. I'm the cool brother." He paused to chuckle at the glares from his brothers. "If anyone ever tries to mess with you, I'll mess them up, okay? I'm prepared to bleed and fight for you." 

Theo made a small gurgling noise and then she was passed to Alex, who took her as though he were afraid he might break her. He glanced up at Aaron, who gave him a reassuring nod. 

"H-hi," he began nervously. "I'm Alex. You're stuck with me the longest, I guess." He let out a shaky breath, relieved when no tears came from the baby. "And, and I know this world is really screwed up, but I'll make it right for you. And you'll blow us all away."

He bit his lip nervously as Theo continued to stare up at him, showing no reaction. Then, she smiled and fell asleep in his arms, and Alex fell apart. 

Herc gently took her from Alex, wiping at his son's tears and giving him a proud grin. Aaron wrapped his arms around his husband and his baby, and then the boys joined in and they all had a feeling of _completeness_ , like they had finally found the missing piece their family needed all along.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm @justsmilingmoreandtalkingless on tumblr if you want to come discuss or talk about Hamilton! I also take requests for little tics, and you can even request fics for this series. Even if I don't feel like it'll fit in this universe I certainly write you a stand-alone fic!


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